Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada

As we neared Prince Rupert, we could see the city was larger than those previously visited. However, as the Norwegian Star didn’t arrive until 4 pm (on time) and we had booked a Sealife Discovery & Crab Extravaganza, we had no time to explore the city. Shortly after coming alongside we had to assemble on the wharf to be taken to a boat for our tour.

It wasn’t a long walk to our boat trip but the tide was out and the ramp down to the pontoon to board our boat was very steep. We learned the difficult way that tides in the region have a 20~24 feet difference between low and high tide. We boarded a 50' motor cruiser which had a fish tank with four divisions in the main cabin area. On the aft was a stainless drum filled with water and boiling away with what we guessed were crabs.

The crew were friendly and we soon cast off to look around the local harbour. Many sections of it reminded me of the Hawkesbury River and we stopped at a couple of spots to drop a crab pot. The girls each handled a live crab and much to their disgust, watched me hold a crab by the legs and break it in two over the stainless guardrail – I was being taught to do this – not some fetish of mine!

In the main cabin, a man was showing everyone the different types of sea animals in the aquarium, many of which were passed around to get the “feel”. There were sea anemomies, sea slugs, starfish, sea cucumbers, crabs etc. When I went outside again, the man at the back was throwing food out to attract some local Bald Eagles. Sure enough, in they came but getting a good photo without a rapid shot SLR camera is difficult....or lucky!

Unfortunately it started to rain lightly and although we were able to take shelter inside, we didn’t see a great deal – being twilight and getting darker didn’t assist. The captain was talking about the local history over the PA system, but it was a little difficult to hear as other passengers were intent on having their own conversations.

Upstairs was the dining area and as we sat down, we were brought a good sized crab each. We were also entitled to a tea, coffee, water or soft drink so we enjoyed the feast – crab sure takes a long time to devour. Shortly after we finished the meal, we arrived back at the wharf, climbed the ramp and walked to the Star. All-in-all it was a pleasant evening, the crew were friendly and the food was good.

Next thing, we were on our way back to Seattle – one day at sea and arrived on Saturday morning at 0530. It all seemed to over in a flash! Once back alongside we caught a taxi to the airport and flew back to Denver to return to our American home.